Togo - Traditional Features Of Marriage And Family, Factors In Change Of Family Life, Contemporary Marriage And Family Patterns

living dead contact cultural

In Togo, a West African nation that lies between Ghana and Benin, the term family is broadly defined. A family is more than a husband, a wife, and children. Blood relatives of both spouses are considered part of the family, and the extended family embraces all relatives, living or dead. There is a strong cultural belief that ancestors, also called the living dead, are spiritually in contact with the souls of the living. Families often show reverence to their ancestors during ceremonies marking major life-cycle events and achievements, such as the birth of a child, marriage, death of a family member, or a professional achievement. Traditional social and cultural beliefs have regulated marriage and family behavior for many centuries. The social organization of most ethnic groups was based on a patrilineal system of descent, where sons were given inheritance over daughters (Fiawoo 1984). Some features have changed because of contact with Western civilization. However, instead of a convergence to the Western nuclear family model, the family has adapted traditional features to contemporary contexts and constraints.

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Within the traditional model of the family, marriage is virtually universal and closely associated with reproduction. It is an alliance between two lineages, beyond the realm of two individuals. Traditionally, senior family members have watched closely over the mate selection process to ensure that social rules and beliefs were respected. Only elder members of the extended family were invested wit…

Traditional social beliefs have regulated individual behavior for many centuries. They may have altered over time, but few accounts exist to substantiate these changes. Recorded changes can only be traced back to contacts through trade with Europeans (Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French, and British) initiated in the fifteenth century. Ethnic groups of the coastal region of Togo participated in the …

Another powerful influence on the family in Togo is an awareness of alternative lifestyles. Awareness of these lifestyles is one thing; their adoption is quite another. Togolese families, however, are adopting them, and they are displaying a spectrum of patterns that do not necessarily converge into the Western nuclear family model. Current and emerging marriage and family patterns are the result …

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